It’s been seven years to the day since Nvidia unleashed the GeForce RTX 20 Series into the world, a truly watershed moment that kickstarted the era of ray tracing and upscaling we now live in. As luck would have it, I’ve come into possession of an RTX 2060 Founders Edition just prior to this anniversary, and I’m curious to see how the entry-level Turing graphics card shapes up in 2025.
Despite its age, RTX 2060 remains popular. According to the Steam Hardware & Software Survey, 2.22% of participants are using this very card. That not only makes it more prevalent than every other GeForce RTX 20 Series SKU, but the eighth most-popular GPU on the platform (discounting mobile variants) at the time of writing.
With so many rocking an RTX 2060 in their system, I’m curious to see how their card is holding up against the demands of modern applications and games. There are plenty of upgrade paths available to current owners, but one should always try to extract as much value out of hardware before splashing the cash for something new.
Specifications
Before diving into performance, allow me to reacquaint us all with the technical makeup of RTX 2060. It’s easy to forget but much has changed in the way of GPU design, particularly as process nodes grow ever smaller with each passing generation.
| RTX 2060 | |
|---|---|
| Released | Jan 2019 |
| Codename | Turing |
| GPU | TU106 |
| Process | TSMC 12nm |
| Transistors | 10.8bn |
| Die size | 445mm² |
| CUDA cores | 1,920 |
| Boost clock | 1,680MHz |
| FP32 Boost TFLOPS | 6.5 |
| SM count | 30 of 36 |
| RT cores | 30 (1st Gen) |
| Tensor cores | 240 (2nd Gen) |
| ROPs | 48 |
| Memory | 6GB |
| Memory type | GDDR6 |
| Mem. clock | 14Gb/s |
| Mem. interface | 192-bits (PCIe 3.0 x16) |
| Mem. bandwidth | 336GB/s |
| Board power | 160W |
| Launch MSRP | $349 |
Looking back at TU106, it’s amazing to see how much GPU sizes have shrunk relative to modern designs. For context, the 445mm² die at the heart of RTX 2060 is larger than the 378mm² GB202 you’ll find in RTX 5080.
Similarly, transistor density has come a long way too. TSMC’s 12nm process provided the means to stuff 24.3M per mm² into TU106. Fast forward to today, and we’re fitting almost 5x that amount (113.4M) into Nvidia’s smallest GB207 die, courtesy of TSMC 4N.
Packing 1,920 CUDA cores and a 1.7GHz boost clock, RTX 2060 mirrored the now-beloved GTX 1070. It should come as no surprise then that the Turing card was largely comparable to its Pascal cousin in rasterised rendering, but could trade blows with GTX 1070 Ti and GTX 1080 too on occasion.
Alongside the rest of the GeForce RTX 20 Series, RTX 2060 would mark Nvidia’s first use of GDDR6 VRAM. This change brought with it 14Gb/s memory modules, nearly twice the speed of the preceding GTX 1060’s 8Gb/s chips.
Faster memory allowed bandwidth to balloon. More specifically, an upshot from 192GB/s on GTX 1060 to a healthier 336GB/s on RTX 2060, each using a 192-bit bus.
Somewhat shamefully, that’s more breathing room than either RTX 4060 (272GB/s) or RTX 5050 (320GB/s) provide. However, both of those cards do have the advantage of greater VRAM capacity, totalling 8GB to RTX 2060’s 6GB. This proves a pivotal difference as benchmarks will demonstrate.
Naturally there’s no prior generations of RT cores to compare RTX 2060’s collection to. Until RTX 5060, there wasn’t an 60-class card that sported the same quantity. However, such comparisons don’t illustrate the qualitative improvements that arrive with each generation.
This same line of thinking applies to the collection of 240 Tensor cores. These are actually second-generation accelerators, evolving from the debut efforts of Nvidia’s Volta architecture.
Finally, I’d like to briefly highlight the controversy RTX 2060 garnered for its $349 price point, equivalent to around $449 in today’s money. This marked an uncomfortable $100 increase from GTX 1060, with Nvidia adopting more-affordable $299-329 prices for successors.
Performance
Popping RTX 2060 into the Club386 7950X3D test bench frees the GPU of any potential bottlenecks. More importantly, it allows me to make like-for-like comparisons against other cards.
Our 7950X3D Test PCs
Club386 carefully chooses each component in a test bench to best suit the review at hand. When you view our benchmarks, you’re not just getting an opinion, but the results of rigorous testing carried out using hardware we trust.
Shop Club386 test platform components:
CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D
Motherboard: MSI MEG X670E ACE
Cooler: Arctic Liquid Freezer III 420 A-RGB
GPU: Sapphire Nitro+ Radeon RX 7800 XT
Memory: 64GB Kingston Fury Beast DDR5
Storage: 2TB WD_Black SN850X NVMe SSD
PSU: be quiet! Dark Power Pro 13 1,300W
Chassis: Fractal Design Torrent Grey
I was preparing to explore higher resolutions using RTX 2060 but I haven’t ventured beyond 1080p in my testing. As my results show, this resolution reveals pretty much all we need to know about the graphics card.
Apps & AI
Nvidia RTX 2060 6GB expectedly falls towards the bottom of both 3DMark charts, as it will for all subsequent benchmarks. However, I’m more interested in how big the gaps are between the card and newer models.
Comparing the raster results of RTX 2060 to RTX 5060 in Steel Nomad, a multi-generational improvement to the tune of 94% manifests. However, it’s clear that Nvidia’s architectural improvements have benefitted ray tracing most, with a massive 172% boost.
Stepping into Blender, the $349 RX 9060 XT 16GB performance surprises me. This application isn’t Radeon’s strong suit, but to lose out to a near-seven-year-old card is embarrassing.
Arc B580 doesn’t do quite as poorly, but only musters a small 30% lead over RTX 2060. That’s not even close to the 75% advantage RTX 5050 enjoys.
This software truly is an Nvidia stronghold. RTX 5060 capitalises on this comfort zone and then some, providing a compelling 127% uplift from RTX 2060.
The AI capabilities of consumer graphics cards are becoming more important by the day. RTX 2060 was very early to this party and is definitely showing its age in this regard.
The pioneering score of 21,430 gives way to totals that are 41-97% higher, save for RTX 3050‘s results that are 4% behind.
Large Language Models (LLMs) don’t just love VRAM, they need it. Sadly for RTX 2060, 6GB simply doesn’t cut the mustard for the likes of Llama 3.1 in 2025.
Gaming
A 65fps average marks a promising start for RTX 2060 in our gaming suite. An entry-level graphics from 2019 hitting this level of performance in a 2023 heavy hitter at max settings is no small feat, much as there’s room for improvement with regards to the 1% lows.
Turning on DLSS Super Resolution will help provide more breathing room at minimal cost to image fidelity. It’s not a necessity for RTX 2060 in this title, but it’s not far off.
Looking to performance improvements offered by other cards, B580 sets the floor with a 43% uplift relative to RTX 2060. However, RTX 5060 and RX 9060 XT 16GB are much faster, racing ahead by 83% and 105%, respectively.
Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail narrows the gap between cards. That said, the only changes to the hierarchy apply to the middle of the pack, as RTX 2060 maintains once again the second-from-bottom position on the chart.
RTX 2060 turns in a respectable 89fps average, but a minimum of 49fps does stop the card from achieving a clean 60+fps run across the board. Although, it’s not quite as jarring as Arc B580’s split of 130fps and 51fps.
RX 9060 XT 16GB provides the biggest increase from RTX 2060 performance, at 70%. RTX 5060 isn’t far behind at 63%.
Forza Motorsport makes for painful watching, as RTX 2060 sputters along at an 18fps average. A combination of first-generation RT cores and a lower VRAM capacity than the other cards are making a world of difference.
Ray tracing unavoidably places more pressure on memory, and RTX 2060 simply doesn’t have enough to deal with the most demanding effects of modern games. To the card’s credit, even newer 8GB models, including RTX 5060, struggle in this test.
Meanwhile, RX 9060 XT 16GB crosses the finish line with a butter smooth 67fps average. That’s a 272% improvement from RTX 2060, but such analysis might as well be tantamount to comparing a Porsche Taycan against a Volkswagen Polo.
There’s no VRAM buckling stopping RTX 2060 in Mount & Blade II, as the card stands triumphant with a triple-digit average frame rate. While this is a less demanding game, it’s great to see such performance.
RTX 5050 and RTX 4060 deliver improvements of 45-46% over RTX 2060, with Arc B580 going slightly further at 50%. Not disappointing rises by any means, but they don’t compare to the 83-89% bump RTX 5060 and RX 9060 XT 16GB offer.
What’s this, a 120fps average? Is RTX 2060 still a viable esports GPU? Yes, in a way.
My advice for high-refresh-rate gaming is always have some headroom above your target frame rate, to avoid any unsightly dips once the action gets going. RTX 2060 doesn’t quite accomplish this, but it only dips as low as 70fps.
I should note this is using Extraction’s ‘Ultra+’ preset, so turning down everything to low, as is often the preference of esports players, will free up some rendering horsepower.
Arc B580, RTX 5060, and RX 9060 XT 16GB each maintain minimums above 120fps, making them ideal replacements if you’re rocking a 120-180Hz gaming monitor. That said, you’ll want the Radeon for the biggest boost at a neat 100%.
| From RTX 2060 6GB ($349) | Relative Avg. Perf. | Relative Avg. Perf. (minus Forza) |
|---|---|---|
| To RTX 3050 6GB ($249) | -2% | -9% |
| To RTX 5050 8GB ($249) | +42% | +37% |
| To RTX 4060 8GB ($299) | +57% | +45% |
| To RTX 5060 8GB ($299) | +72% | +75% |
| To Arc B580 12GB ($249) | +80% | +51% |
| To RX 9060 XT 16GB ($349) | +129% | +93% |
I’ve aggregated the percentile differences in average frame rates between RTX 2060 and the cohort of comparison cards in the chart above.
Unsurprisingly, RX 9060 XT 16GB emerges the best upgrade of the bunch but it is the most expensive at $349. Still, this is a price match for RTX 2060’s launch MSRP, and offers a properly transformative performance leap of 93-129%.
RTX 5060 8GB offers the second-most consistent improvement, at 72-75%. I honestly expected to see more of an increase in native performance given we’re talking about a card that’s come three generations after RTX 2060, but it’s still a welcome uplift.
Arc B580 takes the bronze overall, as the 80% uplift it offers is largely inflated by Forza Motorsport. Removing that result, the card then offers a decent 50% bump.
Conclusion
Putting RTX 2060 to the test in 2025 has been eye-opening. The card is showing its age with AI and ray tracing, but can still hold its own in some arenas.
For less-demanding games and esports, RTX 2060 still has enough horsepower to get players by. Intense workloads do stretch the card’s capabilities, but it will surprise you on occasion like it did me with Assassin’s Creed Mirage.
I’m less enthused with how RTX 2060’s RT cores and 6GB VRAM capacity hold up in modern times. I did give the card further chances to prove itself via Cyberpunk 2077 and Doom: The Dark Ages, but neither looked nor played well enough to the point that I’d seriously consider turning on ray tracing.
AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT 16GB
“RX 9060 XT 16GB is the graphics card many have been waiting for.” Read our review.
Nvidia GeForce RTX 5060 8GB
“RTX 5060 offers a good amount of value.” Read our review.
Intel Arc B580 12GB
“Arc B580 successfully disrupts the established graphics card hierarchy.” Read our review.
If you are considering swapping out your RTX 2060 with a replacement graphics card, I believe now’s a great time to do so. Through Arc B580, RTX 5060, and RX 9060 XT 16GB, you have options open to you at $250-350 that will provide definitively transformative performance.
